First coronavirus case emerges in Balochistan, toll reaches 19 nationwide
March 10, 2020 09:23 PM
First coronvarius case was confirmed in Balochistan on Tuesday night, taking the total tally to 19 nationwide.
In a statement issued by Fatima Jinnah Hospital medical superintendent, a 12-years-old boy tested positive for the novel coronavirus. However, his parents were cleared after the test, the MS said. The family belonged to Dadu, a town of Sindh province. They reached Quetta via Taftan border.
Earlier, two cases were reported in Sindh. A spokesman for Sindh Health Department confirmed the first case in Hyderabad and the patient arrived from Syria via Doha while the second case reported in Karachi and the patient arrived from Iran via Dubai.
The health department is tracking down all contacts of the two patients for further testing, the spokesman said.
Karachi has been the worst affected city so far with 15 cases. Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, Hyderabad and Quetta have one case each.
Engro shuts Karachi offices
The Engro Corporation Tuesday announced that it is closing all the company's offices in Karachi after one of its employees tested positive for the coronavirus.
In a statement issued, Engro said that the employee who was diagnosed with coronavirus had come to the office on March 6 "for only a few hours". The statement added that though the circumstances "do not warrant office closure and call for self-monitoring", the decision to close the offices for the next three days was a "precautionary measure".
PSL matches to be played in Karachi
The Sindh government on Tuesday mulled a number of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus but again ruled out moving Pakistan Super League (PSL 5) games out of Karachi.
Sindh Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said that PSL matches scheduled in Karachi will continue as planned. He said that the provincial government was taking all necessary measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in Sindh province. “There is no change in the schedule of PSL Karachi matches. The situation is under control,” he said in a statement.